Barrow Explains Leaked Smart Stream Payment Documents

Dean Barrow

Former Prime Minister Dean Barrow has gone on record to discuss payments that were made to Barrow and Williams, a law firm in which he is a principal.  Earlier this week, a trove of spreadsheet documents showing payments made via Smart Stream was leaked to the media. While the intention may have been to contradict what Barrow told us last week, he says that the information does in fact support his previous claim.  Here’s how he responded to the question.

Dean Barrow, Former Prime Minister

“If you look at the documentation, there is a clear distinction between an amount for something like three point odd million dollars paid to Barrow & Williams as compensation for the clients that Barrow & Williams represented in suing the government for expropriation of their property, non-compensation for their lands.  And you will see the column lists every single one of those payments…  in respect of the acquisition of her land.  That cannot constitute legal fees from the government to Barrow & Williams.  There is another section on the document in which there are maybe two or three payments to Barrow & Williams as legal fees for work done to the government.  And it is, as I said, I remember the referendum case and there were two or three others.  Apart from that, that set of documents also shows compensation payments, payments to clients of Barrow & Williams, in some cases it is not clear what it is talking about.  But my point is that the document absolutely bears out what I was saying, supports completely what I was saying.  There was never a situation such as there is now with CourtenayCoye where Barrow & Williams was the go-to lawyer.”